Keanu bails on Hulu's Devil In The White City show

Keanu Reeves has reportedly exited Hulu’s upcoming limited series adaptation of The Devil In The White City, bailing on a project that was set to be his first major starring TV role. This is according to Deadline, which reports that neither Hulu PR, nor Reeves’ representation, have so far issued a comment about the move.

This is, as it happens, a pretty fast turnaround on what was set to be a very high-profile project. Although rumors had been circulating since back in January 2022, Reeves was only formally announced for the project back in August, signing on to play the role of visionary architect Daniel H. Burnham— whose efforts to design the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago serve as the backdrop for the work of the first modern American serial killer. No reason has been given for Reeves backing out, although it’s easy to imagine that the shooting schedule for this kind of elaborate period piece might have started to encroach on the actor’s ever-busy movie calendar.

Hulu’s eight-episode series is being executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio—the latter having acquired the film rights to Erik Larson’s 2003 best-seller back in 2010, originally with an eye toward Scorsese directing. The project was revived in this TV series form in 2019, and has been steadily (if slowly) building up steam since; the current plan was to begin production in 2023 with an eye toward a 2024 release. It’s not clear if Reeves’ departure from the project will jam up that timeline. Sam Shaw (creator of Stephen King TV adaptation Castle Rock) is set to serve as showrunner on the project, while Todd Field (whose new film Tár is set to potentially devour awards season) has been tapped to direct.